Life Finds A Way
by Soffaa
Summary: Popular girl, Jennifer King, used to be friends with the gang when she was younger, but her parents moved them away to focus on their marriage. After her parents divorce, her and her mum came back to Wisconsin and everyone saw that she had changed. Being a hot girl in Point Place means automatic popularity, which led to her drifting away from the gang. But life finds a way
1. The Rundgren Concert

**AN: Hey guys, I've been watching That 70s show again and totally fallen for Hyde... again. I never really liked Jackie and Hyde together because I felt like she tried to change him and play with his feelings a lot which wasn't unfair to our favourite rebel. So I thought why not write a fanfic? I hope you guys enjoy it and please review.**

**Chapter 1**

Todd Rundgren was coming to the end of his encore, finishing the show in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Jen looked around the arena to see all the fans dancing in their seats, carefully holding their ignited lighters as they did. A smile was constantly on her face as she lifted her arms in the air, giving Rundgren the 'rock on' gesture. Her dirty blonde bangs were stuck to her forehead with sweat at dancing all night, glad she put the rest of her untamed curly hair in a ponytail. Dark blonde tresses of hair were sticking to her white 'Utopia' tee, she had bought in the arena lobby. As Todd finished his epic guitar solo, she started to stomp her mahogany fringe clogs on the floor to cheer him on.

Her old loner ways were coming through, she had come to the concert by herself as none of her 'friends' would be caught dead at this gig. Since coming back to Point Place, she had somehow gained a popular status. Jennifer believed it was because she had lost the braces, the acne had cleared and her boobs had grown. Blooming into a swan, made people want to get to know her but it was all skin deep.

Being alone did have its upside, she could headbang and be free to rock out to one of her favourite artists. It would have been nice to have people to share this night with but she didn't know anyone that would want to come. Except maybe the old gang.

The applause continued well after Rundgren and his band had left the stage, people chanting for one more encore. The lights coming on upset the fans letting them know their amazing night was over.

Jen grabbed her rust red fringe jacket off her chair, ready to exit the arena and go home back to boring Point Place. She hoped that this concert high will continue for another couple of days.

The blonde had only been back a few weeks and already missed the buzzing happy atmosphere of California. However the happy vibes back east did nothing to fix her parents marriage. After their divorce, she left with her mother to come back to Point Place where her mom was surrounded by friends like The Forman's and Pinciotti's.

The Kings used to live in the same cul-de-sac with the other two families, meaning Jen had plenty of friends to hang out with as she grew up. Jen had met the each person of the gang in different ways.

She had known Eric all her life as her parents, Jason and Melissa, were good friends with Kitty and Red. Kitty met Melissa at work, as they both worked as nurses at the hospital. Jason was actually one of the rare people that Red tolerated, it had nothing to do with the fact that he owned a garage and could fix Red's car at a discount. Through Eric she met Michael Kelso, the young man that would provide unless amounts of entertainment. The brunette would always tease her about her looks, but more like a big brother would annoy his little sister. She met Donna when the redhead moved in next door to Eric and Jen, when they were six. Jen liked Donna the moment she punched Eric for staring at her. The two became best friends over the years, almost like sisters, enjoying hanging out or playing basketball with the guys but also having some girly time.

When she hit puberty that's when everything went downhill. Her parents got her braces to fix her crooked teeth, spots started to appear all over her face and her boobs refused to grow. Every day at school she would get bullied for the things she couldn't help, the awkward stages of becoming a teenager. Luckily for her she had a saviour, Steven Hyde. The curly haired boy had met Eric at school, both of them seeing the ongoing ridicule that Jen faced. One day Hyde had had enough, he stepped in threatening the popular kids with bodily harm if they didn't leave Jen alone. From that day, the mystery that was Steven Hyde intrigued her. They would go on to become best friends; Hyde teaching her the ways of rock'n'roll and Jen teaching him the ways of girls. Steven Hyde was every important to her; being her very first kiss and her first crush. That's why when her parents were having trouble and decided to leave to California around her 14th birthday, it was so hard to leave him.

But now she was 17 and back in Point Place, with her new looks and attitude. Her parents divorced had messed her up, having to see her father and mother separately and listen to them bitch about the other really brought her guard up. She didn't want to leave her dad in California but when Melissa told her she was going back to Point Place, she jumped at the opportunity. She had been back only for a few weeks but a lot had changed.

People at school couldn't believe that she was the same Jennifer King that had left for California. The popular crowd began to talk to her, especially the cheerleaders about life in sunny California. That's when she met Jackie Burkhart, the stereotypical popular rich girl at high school. Jen and Jackie got on fairly well but more so when she found out Jackie was dating Kelso. This could be her in back with the old gang, but according to annoying brunette Jen couldn't clique jump.

The blonde hadn't really seen any of the gang as the Kings had to move into a new home off the cul-de-sac. Her pulse picked up when she thought about her old friends, especially the frizzy haired rebel.

Whilst reminiscing about the old times, she didn't realise she had made it outside into the car park. Making her way towards her bright orange Ford Mustang, her father built and fixed for her, she pulled out a cigarette. With the cigarette in her mouth, she used her silver zippo to light the white stick, enjoying the smoke entering her lungs. Coming to her car, she noticed a familiar Vista Cruiser parked next to her rocking back and forth. Through the window, she could clearly see two people heavily making out in the back of the car. Jen grimaced at the public display of lust, leaning against her car whilst she smoked her cigarette.

As she leant against her car, she heard a distinct voice in the sea of excited fans talking about the concert. She lifted her head, making sure not to look at the humping couple in the car, to see the friendly face of a tall redhead coming her way.

"Donna?" She asked the red head, who was only a few yards away from the car. Donna stopped animatedly talking to Eric behind her and faced the direction of the voice. Confusion filled her eyes as she stared at the cool smoking blonde leaning on an equally cool car. The ginger girl then saw the gold 'Jennifer' necklace around the slim girl's neck.

"Jen?" Donna squealed, a grin appearing on both of their faces at finally seeing each other after so many years. Jennifer quickly stomped out her cigarette before pushing herself off the car to embrace her old friend. "Mom said you were back."

"Yeah, hopefully for good. It's so good to see you." Jen replied releasing Donna to get a good look at her. The teenager hadn't changed much, she was as tall as Eric and her ginger hair had gotten longer. Jen had missed her best friend, no other friend could compare to her in California. No one else was the perfect combination of tomboy and girly girl that could put up with Jen's craziness.

"It's good to see you too. I missed you." Donna admitted to the other redhead. Jen smiled back at Donna, about to admit the same thing when Eric Forman jumped into the conversation.

"Jen? Wow, you look …. Wow … I mean…" Eric rubbed the back of his neck trying to form a sentence that complimented Jen but didn't hurt Donna's feelings. He didn't want to ruin this like he did with most things. It's like all the words in his brain disappeared as he kept mumbling, trying to form a sentence

"Different?" Jen tried to help Eric out, knowing all about the crush he has had on Donna since they were little. Eric clicked his fingers, pointing at the girl, nodding his head grateful that someone had come to his rescue.

"Yep, that's the word." Eric stuttered. He mouthed 'thank you' over Donna's shoulder to Jen. Jen smirked at Eric, who was now leaning against the Vista Cruiser which she now recognised as Red's old station wagon.

"Red finally give you the keys?" Eric nodded proudly, trying to use his weight to stop the wagon from rocking any more than it was.

"Yeah about time too." Jen silently laughed as Eric used his 'macho' voice, as his strict father wasn't here to reprimand him. Eric tried his hardest to appear tough but everyone knew that he was a bit of a coward when it came to his father. But who wouldn't be? Red was terrifying.

"You know you got two people getting it on in the back of it?" Jen nodded to the back of the car, where the windows had steamed up.

"Yeah, that's just Kelso and Jackie." Eric said not impressed by their antics. He hit the back window as he spoke trying to stop the two from progressing further. The group saw Kelso's hand raise to wave them off, not stopping his attack on Jackie's lips.

Jen's blue eyes went to the two people standing behind the lanky teenager. One was a brown haired foreign looking fella who she had never met before and the other was Hyde. She realised she was staring at the curly haired boy but he just looked so good. Steven Hyde had grown into his untamed afro, which suited his chiselled face. He was dressed in a rust red striped shirt with a maroon patchwork jacket and a pair of old tan corduroy flares. After checking him out, she realised she had been caught by the man in question. His steely blue eyes were looking back at her, as he wasn't wearing his trademark aviators. Jen had never seen his face so naked before. She opened her mouth to address Hyde when the stranger in front of him introduced himself.

"Hello, pretty lady." The boy said with a slight lisp, grabbing her hand and kissing the top. The blonde tried not to laugh at the gesture, admiring the guy's confidence and his chivalrous behaviour. "My name is Fez." This Fez guy was dressed in a powder blue suit with very tight trousers. She averted her eyes, already seeing too much of the newest addition to the gang.

"Hi Fez, I'm Jen. It's nice to meet you." Jen tried to take her hand back but Fez had a mean grip on him. Fez looked like he had more to say but he was pushed forward towards Donna by the rebel behind him. She looked at him with her eyebrows raised, seeing that his troublesome ways hadn't changed.

"Hey braceface." Hyde greeted her in his 'whatever' tone of voice, using her old nickname. Both of his hands shoved into his coat pocket, trying to keep his zen in check. It was his turn to check her out, realising that the old nickname was totally redundant. She no longer had braces or the pimpled skin or the big black spectacles she used to wear. Her body had changed too. Her boobs had got bigger, she had curves in all the right places and the flares she was wearing made her legs look longer. Jen was no longer the nerdy looking outsider she was when they were younger.

Him and Jen had a close relationship when they were younger so it killed him when she went away. But if going to California did this to her, he didn't mind. He always knew she was beautiful but to see it on the outside was totally different.

"Hey Curly Sue." Jen countered, using his old nickname, a little smirk appearing on her face. Hyde rolled his eyes, he hoped that Jen had forgotten but clearly she hadn't.

"I see your music taste has improved."

"Uh, my music taste was always good." Jen argued with Hyde. Hyde was about to counter back with how she used to listen to ABBA all the time, when Eric jumped in.

"Guys, we got to go. Red said not to take any trips out of town and I don't want to give him a reason to get suspicious." Eric was getting jittery at the thought of feeling Red's wrath. He quickly got in the car, trying to usher everyone else in. Jen smiled and nodded at the others are they followed Eric's lead, none of them wanting to leave their old friend. Donna was the last to get in, facing to turn to say goodbye to Jen.

"I guess, we'll see you at school." Donna waved goodbye before getting in the Vista Cruiser, after Eric was pulling her shirt. Jen nodded, waving goodbye at the car full of her old friends. She smiled to herself, finding it funny that life always found a way of bringing them back together.


	2. The Presidential Rally

**Chapter 2**

The next time Jen talked to the gang was at the presidential rally.

She had seen them around school, like at the school assembly, but she was on a leash with the popular group. Jen wasn't allowed to stray from what Kat Peterson and her posse expected of her. Sure there were some perks to being popular but honestly, it was exhausting and she found the whole thing entirely fake. She didn't want to be popular and she definitely didn't want to be a cheerleader, but she couldn't go back to being alone or bullied every day.

She stood with her group along the right side wall, trying to pay attention to the assembly and not look at Hyde. Trying not to act too obvious, she eyed the old gang against the back wall of the auditorium as Principal Cole ranted on. That's where she wanted to be; not seen or not heard so she could do whatever she wanted. Her eyes immediately locked onto Hyde. He looked so cool leaning against the wall, both hands on his buckle as he listened to the pointless speech from their teacher. His face was bare, she was able to see his blue eyes and read his emotions. Like right now, she could tell he was concocting a plan by his pouted lips and narrowed eyes.

Whilst watching, Jen couldn't believe that after all these years she still had a crush on him. She couldn't help how she felt towards the rebel. He was just so mysterious, aloof and it drove her crazy. The two had become really good friends whilst growing up and she didn't want to ruin that, especially if her feelings aren't reciprocated.

Before the rally that her mother was making her go to, she found out The Forman's and Pinciotti's were going, which meant the whole gang would probably be there. When she got home from school, she saw that her mom had laid out an outfit for her to where. A mustard collared light sweater with a denim skirt, some brown knee high socks with her similar coloured clogs. The preppy outfit would not have been her outfit of choice. Jen's style consisted of band tees with a pair of flares or the occasional skirt, but she would wear this for her mom.

* * *

"Would you stop pulling at the skirt? You look fine." Her mother told her off. Melissa didn't want people to stare at her fidgeting daughter. Since Jen had put the skirt on, she had been constantly fighting with it to stay in one place but as she moved, so did it. The two were walking up the steps towards the school where the rally was being held.

"Did you have to pick the most uncomfortable skirt in my closet?" Jen groaned at her mother, who was now swatting at her daughter's hands every time they moved to the skirt. The two of them were approaching a table, just outside the school, with President Ford badges and lollipops for children. Melissa grabbed one of each.

"Yes I did." She teased her daughter as she pinned the Ford badge to her sky blue blouse. Once she finished she turned to her daughter, offering her the red lollipop. "Here, you go. Since you're going to act like a child." Melissa smirked at Jen, waiting for her daughter to take the candy.

"I'm not taking this because I'm acting like a child." Jen took the lollipop off her mother. "I'm taking this because I want it." To make her point, the blonde whipped off the plastic wrapper and popped it in her mouth. She spun around on the heel of her clogs to enter the school and get this rally over with. She could hear the sound of her mother's chuckles behind her causing Jen to have a smile of her own.

Since the divorce, Jen loved making her mother smile to make her forget about the lost love between her and her father. Jen and Melissa had gotten a lot closer through the ordeal. It's not like Jen didn't get on with her dad, she did, but there was nothing like the bond between a mother and daughter.

As the two turned the corner towards the auditorium, she spotted four guys dressed in only trench coats and boots. After a quick inspection she recognised them as Hyde, Eric, Fez and Kelso. Hyde, Eric and Fez were holding onto a shirtless Michael, who had his trench coat on up to his waist. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mom turn to her and look at her strangely. Jen answered with a shrug, not understanding why the four of them were in matching outfits or why Kelso was half naked.

"Well, I'm going to go look for Kitty and Midge." Melissa announced, leaving Jen to watch the nervous looking boys. She leant against the door frame with the cherry lollipop in her mouth. After a while, she saw a blob of blue and red entering the school to her left. She turned her head to see Donna dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit with white stars dotted all over. Jen tried her hardest not to laugh at the outfit she was wearing, especially when she made eye contact with Donna.

"Nice stars." Jen teased Donna as the redhead approached her.

"Nice socks." Donna countered, looking at the brown knee high socks Jen was wearing. Her legs crossed in response, trying and failing to hide the clothing.

"My mom laid them out for me so I'm wearing them." The blonde grumpily replied to the gentle burn.

"Why do you think I'm wearing this?" Donna gestured to the jumpsuit, letting Jen know this wasn't her idea.

"I'm going to guess Bob?" Donna nodded sadly. Bob had always had a very unique sense of fashion, favouring the more flamboyant, flashy, silky patterned shirts and gold chains. Donna resumed walking to the auditorium with Jen walking in step with her. The blonde had only just noticed that the boys had disappeared from the hallway. Speaking of the boys… "Why are the guys dressed in trench coats?" Donna giggled at the question.

"They're planning on streaking."

"What?!" Jen exclaimed looking at Donna, who excitedly nodded at her reaction. Kelso, Fez and Hyde made sense but Eric? Eric wasn't the kind of guy to go against the rules, especially if Red was going to be witness to it. She couldn't wait to see how this prank was going to pan out.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go be a flag." The two of them entered the room that was decorated with red, white and blue. Donna paused looking at her parents dressed in red and white striped jumpsuits, standing at the front clasping onto each other. As Donna walked off to join her parents, Jen sat down in one of the aisle chairs of the back row watching the Pinciotti's with a small smile on her face. Trying to hide her amusement as the three of them started to sway like a flag in the wind.

As the blonde sat there, sucking on her lollipop waiting for the rally to begin, she heard some familiar voices behind her.

"Hey, there's another guy in a trench coat." Kelso said, failing to whisper to this three friends.

"I bet he's a streaker, too." She heard the slight lisp of Fez. Jen continued to face forward as she listened in on the conversation.

"Fez, he's with the Secret Service." Eric panicked not thinking about the Secret Service accompanying the president.

"How about that man?"

"Yeah, Secret Service."

"And that man?"

"Yeah."

"And that man with the dog?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, the dog is looking at us. Come here, boy." Jen tried not to laugh whilst Fez attempted to beckon the trained animal.

"No, Fez!" Eric jumped in.

"Oh! Man I just thought of something. What are we going to do with her trench coats?! I mean, after we rip them off, we can't come back here and get them." Hyde reasoned with the other three. Jen rolled her eyes at her friend's 'rebel' ways. A smirk formed on her face as she thought of a way to ruin their new plan. She heard them all groan at Hyde's realisation.

"God, this is all my fault. You know what? I'll hold the coats and you guys streak." Hyde feigned sadness.

Jen jumped up from her seat to face the boys, acting dumb like she wasn't just eavesdropping on their conversation. "Oh, hi boys." She smiled as she stepped closer to them, still sucking on her lollipop. "Donna told me you guys are planning to streak." She whispered not wanting the crowd to hear their plan.

"Well these guys are." Steven shrugged, appearing to be sad. "Somebody has to hold the coats." Hyde explained, Jen seeing through his terrible acting.

"What? No you can't do that." Jen tapped Hyde on the shoulder, she could just make out his glare as he caught on to what she was doing. "I'll take the coats for you, that way you can all do it together."

"Thanks, Jen." Hyde grumbled through gritted teeth. The blonde looked at him smugly, continuing to suck on the sweet.

"I just thought of something too." Kelso hesitated. "We're naked and there's a lot of dogs here. Maybe we should just sit down."

"I'm in." "Me too." "Me too." The other three boys agreed, Kelso, Eric and Fez all went to sit down on the back row leaving Hyde and Jen still standing. Hyde stepped closer to Jen, who stared up at him innocently.

"Looks like your plan didn't work." Hyde teased the shorter blonde in front of him.

"What are you talking about?" Her blue eyes widen to make herself look naive. Once she finished talking, she popped the lollipop back into her mouth. She swore she could see his eyes drift down to watch her lips wrap around the cherry flavoured sweet. The candy exited her mouth with a pop, smiling at the boy in front of her. "It's a shame you're not streaking though." She left the sunglasses wearing rebel with that thought as she went to sit next to her mom by Kitty and Red.

When she sat down a look of horror crossed her features at what she had just said to Steven Hyde.

_Where the hell did that come from?_ She thought

"Ladies and Gentleman, the President of the United States of America, Gerald R. Ford!" Jackie's father's voice sounded from the speakers as he announced President Ford. The crowd got onto their feet, cheering for the man of the hour as he appeared on stage. The older gentleman walked a couple of steps before falling down but he managed to pick himself up only to fall back down again.

The crowd sat down and stopped clapping to listen to Ford give a small speech thanking Point Place and its people for having him. During the speech, Jen became fidgety again as she could feel someone staring at her. An intense gaze from behind her, making her question how to act with someone watching her. Jen went to turn around but was stopped by her mother's hands and a look telling her to stay still.

"Now it's time for the 'Q' and 'A' portion of our program." Jack Burkhart's voice returned. "First up, I'd like to introduce Red Forman. Red is a father of two wonderful children and how he's managed to keep them clothed and fed while being cut back to halftime at the plant is beyond me." Jen glared a little at Jack, everyone didn't need to know that. "But he doesn't blame the President for his misfortune. No, sir. He only blames himself. I give you Red Forman!" Red got up from his seat with everybody clapping as he walked to the small podium in the middle of the aisle.

"Urmm..." Red nervously muttered as the microphone squeaked with feedback. The blonde had never seen Red so anxious in his life. He started squirming under the gaze of the man on stage. "Mr President." He stuttered out. "I … uh-"

"Come on, Red." Jack encouraged. Red twisted round to look at Kitty and Eric for support. The light reflected off the beads of sweat on his forehead, appearing from the sudden pressure. What the 'support' he got was not what he expected.

"WEE, WEE! PEE, PEE!" Eric's voice exclaimed. Jen looked round to see why Eric was drawing attention at himself. There he was wearing a Nixon mask, giving the peace sign, butt naked. Jen's eyes slowly widened in shock, wanting to look away but couldn't. The scene was the equivalent of a bad car crash. She slowly lifted her hands to cover her mother's eyes, wanting to save her mother's memory from the sight of Eric's junk.

Suddenly Eric realised what he had just done and ran out the room screaming, chased by some of the secret service. Jen removed her hand from her mother's eyes to see her covering her mouth trying to hide her giggles at Eric's rebellious move. Her hand didn't stop Kitty from hearing her muffled chuckle, who glared in response.

"Hey, Gerry, here's my question. How the hell could you pardon Nixon?" Red confidently said, watching Jack Burkhart shake his head in embarrassment. It seemed as though his son's act had shaken Red from his shy trance. Cheers were heard from the back row as the boys stood up to applaud Red Forman's question, especially from Hyde.

As Jen sat in her seat she peered around the room through the standing ovation at the people she grew up with. She felt happy that she had returned to Point Place. She felt like she was finally home.


	3. The Keg

**Chapter 3 - The Keg**

That day at school Jen had heard that some teens had found an untouched abandoned keg and were throwing a house party down Sherman. She overheard that they were charging $2 a beer but she didn't care because IT WAS BEER! She tried to convince her group of 'friends' to come with her but they all wanted to go drink wine at Kat's house instead. Jen responded by rolling her eyes at their pretentious idea of fun.

As soon as the bell rung, the blonde hopped into her orange Mustang, careful not to catch her light white dress as she closed the door. Her tan platform covered foot stepped on the accelerator, hightailing it out of the school car park.

When Jen turned down Sherman, she was sure she didn't have the right address due to the lack of cars around, but she supposed that was the point. The car stopped outside the white house which had a Pam Burkhart for sale sign placed on the lawn. Switching off the rumble of the engine, she could then hear the almost quiet chatter of teenagers coming from behind the house. Grabbing her brown corduroy jacket on the seat next to her, she climbed out the car and walked towards the wooden side gate.

Arriving in the backyard of the house, she noticed a few things. Firstly, apart from her old group of friends, there were only two other people. Secondly, this 'house party' seemed to be a gathering in an empty pool with just a few chairs and the keg. Thirdly, the keg didn't have a tap, which meant NO BEER! After making her observations, Jen realised she was standing awkwardly by the gate, making a decision to either stay or go. The choice was made for her when Donna spotted her across the pool.

"Jen! Hey!" The redhead waved the blonde over. Donna stood up from where she was sitting on the edge of the pool with Hyde. Jen didn't miss the annoyed grimace that fell across Hyde's face as Donna stood up to greet her. Jen made her way over to embrace her old best friend and give a small nod to Hyde.

"I should have guessed it was you guys who found the keg." Jen stated, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. She felt awkward as if she had intruded on a moment between the curly haired rebel and the saucy redhead. "Did you happen to find a tap too?" Jen tilted her head to the side with a small smirk on her lips at the lack of forward thinking from the group.

"Kelso's gone to a liquor store to buy one." Hyde informed Jen, mimicking her actions and putting his hands in his denim jacket. Jen winced at the new information.

"Kelso? Was he the best choice to go?" Donna laughed at the indirect burn, her chuckle faded as she thought about the statement, turning to Hyde for reassurance.

"Well luckily for the bone head, you don't need ID to buy a tap." Hyde chimed in, putting Donna's panicking to rest. Beer was at stake here people.

"Yeah you're right." Donna nodded, walking over to the ladder. "He couldn't mess this up." The redhead climbed down the ladder into the pool where Fez was collecting money and Eric was bullshitting Jackie.

Jen was left alone with Hyde again, but this time she really took in how good he looked. Her eyes trailed down at the outfit he was wearing. The patterned obnoxious jeans he wore made his legs appear muscular and the front bulge. It was paired with a brown round neck t-shirt, denim jacket and a black cord necklace. The look was totally different from his normal jeans and band tee combo and she was digging it. Her eyes moved back up to his face where a smug smirk laid on his lips.

"What?" Jen shrugged slightly.

"Were you just checking me out, King?" Hyde teased. Jen managed to roll her eyes, but inside she was dying from embarrassment having been caught. She silently cursed herself, hoping her cheeks didn't give her away.

"What?! No! I- I was… Urm …" Hyde's smirk deepened as Jen stammered trying to think of something to say. "Uh, fine!" She slapped her thighs, admitting defeat. Why was it that her brain seemed to malfunction around Steven Hyde? "Yes, I was!"

"Did you not get a good look at the rally?"

"Well, that trench coat did not do you justice." Jen crossed her arms which made her breasts rise slightly out of her dress, giving Hyde enough of an eyeful. Her plan worked, as she watched his head tilt down to follow her movement. Jen could just make out, through the tinted glasses, where his gaze was lingering.

"Well uh." Hyde's focus was somewhere else, getting a peek at her newly grown boobs. She saw his Adam's apple bob when he swallowed. Steven Hyde used to tease her about her flat chest, comparing hers to Donna's and sometimes even Eric's. Hyde cleared his throat, suddenly aware of what he was doing. His steely blue eyes met hers through his sunglasses. "Well, you look good too." He nodded making his way towards the ladder to join the rest of the gang, totally missing the reddening of her cheeks.

"I never said- uh, whatever" She approached the ladder to climb down and join him but realised he would get a good view up her dress.

"Are you coming?" Hyde huffed, peering up at her already. His smug grin returned when he noticed he could already see up her dress slightly.

"So you could get a nice eyeful? Yeah, I don't think so." Jen gave him a look before walking to the shallow end of the pool and walking down. She smiled hello at Eric and Jackie, who were crowding around the undrinkable keg. The bottom of her platforms clapped against the cement of the pool as she walked over but was stopped by Fez.

"Hello, my beautiful lady. $2 please." He held out his hand unexpectedly, waiting for her to pay the fee. The blonde was about to hand over the money, when she thought of a way to get out of it.

"$2? I didn't know there was an entry fee otherwise I would have brought money." Jen pouted, jutting her bottom lip out and peering at the foreign boy through her long black lashes. She had perfected the 'puppy dog' look over the years, finding it useful every now and again.

"Well I'm sorry but-"

"Isn't there anything I can do?" She put on her Marilyn Monroe voice, trying to appeal to the horny side of the brunette. "Please?" She leant forward to give him a peck on the cheek. Her soft lips brushed against his clean shaved cheek, leaving Fez wanting more.

"Yes, yes, yes." Fez muttered with his slight lisp. "You may enter." Jen smiled at him in return, walking past him to the deep end. "She wants some of Fez." He whispered, but not quiet enough to escape Jen's ears.

During the conversation, more teenagers had turned up at the promise of cheap beer. Kelso had also come back with a snapped in half tap, that Donna was currently holding. Hyde was watching, shaking his head disappointingly at Kelso.

"It's broken." Donna chastised Kelso, as Jen made her way to the dingy deck chair Hyde was sat in.

"I got duct tape." Kelso responded matter-of-factly, holding up an entire roll of silver tape.

"I can't believe you guys thought Kelso was the best option." She reiterated her point out loud, angry at the broken tap.

"Duct tape? Do you know how much pressure runs through that tap?" Hyde remarked from his chair.

"I got a whole roll of duct tape." Jen face palmed at Kelso's comment.

"Duct tape doesn't fix everything, Kelso." Jen spoke up. At the sound of her voice, Kelso glanced at her, finally noticing her presence. His whole demeanour changed from a small boy that had gotten into trouble to a Lothario.

"Hey Jen" He nodded, placing a hand on his hip. "Looking good in that dress." Jen rolled her eyes at his attempt at hitting on her in front of his friends. During Kelso's bad flirting, Hyde had jumped up to confront Eric.

"Forman, you need to get your dad's tap now!" The strong tone of his Hyde's voice, sent a slight shiver down her spine.

"My dad doesn't have a tap." Eric failed miserably at lying, his eyes looking at anywhere but Hyde's intense gaze. Hyde placed both of his hands on the tops of Eric's arms to patronise the young man.

"Red's got bicentennial swizzle sticks. He's got fake lemons with real lemon juice. He's got toothpicks shaped like swords. Red Forman is a cocktail man." The rebel's voice grew louder with every word. "And cocktail dads have beer taps." During Hyde's rant, Jen, Kelso and Donna had joined to almost surround Eric.

"Yeah, come on, Eric, we never ask you for anything." Kelso tried to reason with his friend.

"You guys ask me for everything." Eric shouted back.

"So, what's one more thing?" Jen rolled her eyes at Kelso's lame attempt.

"No, forget it. I've done enough today already. Count me out." Eric stood his ground. The teenagers sighed at their failure. Jen turned to the redhead next to her.

"Donna, think you can some of your magic on Eric?" Jen raised her eyebrows to emphasise her point.

"What? What magic?" Donna flustered.

"Seriously? You know he has the hots for you and I know you do for him. I may have been gone two years but that's the one thing that hasn't changed." Jen smirked at Donna, watching the blush deepened on the redhead's cheeks.

"Shut up, Jen!" Donna pushed the blonde slightly who giggled in return at the childish response. Jen had missed teasing Donna about her feelings about Eric and having nice moments with the tall girl. It was as if she had never left Point Place.

At the same time, the two moron jocks known as Destroy and Giveback started to harass Kelso about the broken tap.

"Hey, Kelshmo, what, your tap is broken?" Destroy questioned Kelso. "Why'd you do something stupid like buy a stupid, broken tap?" As Jen watched the idiots, she realised that she didn't actually know their real names. "What are you, stupid?"

"It wasn't broken until you broke it." Kelso defeated, making a face at the two to show who was the stupid ones.

"Oh. man." Destroyed turned around to face Giveback. Giveback put an arm around his shoulder to comfort his dumb friend.

"Don't beat yourself up. You had no way of knowing. Anyways, we gave it back." Giveback said.

_Yeah because that was going to fix things._ Jen thought to herself.

"Yeah, broken!" Eric interjected. His friends saw the frustration of today was getting to the young man and was on the cusp of snapping.

"Hey, lay off him, all right? He feels bad enough already." Giveback told Eric off to defend his idiotic friend.

"Oh, he should because he's a moron." Eric had snapped. The blonde heard Donna suck in a breath, worried that the poor lanky boy was going to get his fragile bones shattered.

"What did you say?"

"I said that you're both morons." Eric straightened to the same height as the two jocks. "What are you going to do? You're going to beat me up? What, you weigh 400 pounds together? It doesn't matter. The fact is that the tap is broken and it's your fault. Morons!" Eric shouted. Destroy pushed Giveback aside to confront Eric.

"You are so rude. Give us our 4 bucks back." Destroy demanded. Fez had wandered over during the commotion to stand with Donna and Jen.

"Okay, Fez" Eric took the money off Fez, who was standing next to him. Eric ripped the dollar bills in half, his eyes focused on the two boys in front of him to see their reactions. "Familiar?" The two idiots stormed off.

"Wow, Eric, you just tore their money." Donna moved to stand in front of the scrawny boy, showing how impressed she was. "And you gave it back. That was great." She was jumping on the ball of her feet, excitement coursing through her.

"Yeah, that was so not Eric Forman like. It was almost …" Jen stopped to think of the right word. "Hot?" Donna nodded along with her and Eric just looked at the blonde a little offended.

"That was awesome but enough of this levity, wench!" Eric ran across the pool to the ladder on the other side. He stood on the bottom step to address the larger crowd. "We came here to have a party, and as God is my witness, there will be a party." Eric declared, smiling at the horde of teens.

"Huzzah!" Everyone cheered, raising their fists in the air as Eric ran off to get his father's tap. Someone had turned on a cassette player to play some tunes so the party could begin. The teens began to dance to the music, but as soon as it had begun, it stopped.

The lights inside the house came on followed by Jackie rushing into the back yard. "Everybody in the deep end! My mother is showing the house." She shouted quickly as she descended the ladder into the pool.

"Now?!" Donna exclaimed.

"People work."

"Okay, quiet down, everybody." Donna shouted, turning off the music and ushering everyone into the deep end. The large group of people tried to push against the wall to hide themselves as best as possible. Jen was side on, facing Fez, not wanting to give him any access to anything. As the crowd continued to push to make themselves as small as possible, she felt a hand grab her waist as if to steady themselves.

"Sorry." A husky voice whispered in her ear, their breath just skimming her ear. She knew who it was straight away, not wanting to face the curly haired boy as she felt her cheeks warm. The crowd pushed the other way, causing Jen to clutch onto Hyde's hand to steady herself.

"It's no problem." She was suddenly aware her bum was brushing against the front of his jeans, as she felt the rough material through her tulle dress. Before she could react, Pam's voice broke the silence.

"The deck is new and this lovely tile walkway leads directly to the pool." Pam Burkhart walked out the house with a couple behind her. When the realtor gestured to the pool, all three adults saw the teens jammed together like sardines. "Which is filled with some of the local kids. Heavily Caucasian. It's a nice neighbourhood." She tried to put a positive spin on the unexpected party but could tell by the shocked faces of the older couple that she had lost out on the sale. The couple departed from the back yard quickly. "Well, I'm calling the police." Pam looked at her daughter annoyed, stomping away the from the pool.

"Mom! No!" Jackie tried to chase her mother but couldn't reach the last step of the ladder, so opted to walk out the shallow end.

"Everyone for themselves!" Some random kid shouted as teens started running in different directions. Jen looked around panicked at the chaos in the small area. The blonde turned to her group of friends.

"Well, it was great seeing you guys but I think I'm going to go." Jen waved goodbye to the group, running up the pool and exiting the backyard quickly.

Whilst putting her key in the ignition, she couldn't help but laugh at the hi-jinks her old friends got themselves into. She drove away from the house with a smile on her face, her mind turning to one person in particular.


	4. The Smoking Encounter

**Chapter 4 - The Smoking Encounter**

The high pitched ring of the bell echoed through the school corridors, causing students to walk in every direction towards their next class. The bell signalled Jen's study hall period, which she only went to when she had tons of homework or an upcoming test. Since she had neither, she decided to skip.

Whilst walking to the double doors that lead to the back of the school, she pulled her wavy blonde locks into a ponytail. As she exited the school, she was hit with a blast of fresh air against her soft exposed skin. The thin material of the balloon sleeved blouse she was wearing underneath her brown suede pinafore, did nothing for warmth but at least she looked cute. She rolled her eyes at the thought, blaming Jackie for thinking something like that.

The blonde made her way towards the dumpsters, which were hidden in a small nook surrounded by the brick walls of Point Place high. This is where she would sneak a secret cigarette during the day if she was getting easily frustrated. Unfortunately, this was becoming more and more frequent. Jen found the little nook a few weeks ago when Kat Peterson began picking on some poor innocent freshman because of the way she looked. Jennifer tried to help the girl once Kat walked away, but the memories of getting bullied caused her to flee the scene. She had no idea where her feet where taking her until she reached the dumpsters and saw Gross Edna smoking a cigarette. Looking at the lunch lady, she hoped that Edna didn't recognise her, she didn't, and also felt extremely jealous at the white stick in her hand.

She had developed the dirty habit during her parents' divorce as a way to try to relax and escape their fighting. There was something about the smoke filling her lungs that relaxed her and put her at ease. When she was younger she used to tell Hyde off for smoking, giving him the normal lecture about his health. Now, she was hypocrite.

The feel of the cool brick against the back of her neck put her a little at ease. She rustled through her small brown shoulder bag to look for her zippo and her pack of cancer sticks. Placing the cigarette in her mouth, she flicked the lighter on, lighting the white roll of tobacco. Her eyes closed as she inhaled, feeling immediately relaxed as the deadly smoke hit her lungs. Dropping her head back onto the brick wall, she could feel her body unwind and her pulse drop slightly. Jennifer stayed like that for a couple of minutes, continuing to smoke the cigarette every now and again.

The peaceful silence was broken when she heard footsteps approaching. Jen panicked, dropping the almost finished cigarette to the floor and stomping it out. She made sure to kick the butt underneath the dumpster before anyone approached. Although she did think about the fact that anyone would find it weird if she was hanging out by the dumpsters.

Jen blew and fanned the air around her as if it would help get rid of the smell. The footsteps got louder the closer they got. The blonde leaned nonchalantly against the wall, waiting for the person to either walk away or right past her. Her blue eyes stayed on the corner of wall, not expecting a familiar curly-haired young man with a cigarette in his mouth, to turn the corner. Hyde was just about to light the cigarette when his glasses covered eyes met Jen's.

"What are you doing here?" The zen master grumbled with the cigarette in his mouth. Jen's eyes watched as he flicked the lighter and lit the cigarette. She swears it was the hottest thing she had ever seen.

"Same idea as you." Jen plucked out another cigarette from her pack, popping it in her mouth. The blonde started to look through her bag again for the zippo, but the metal sound of a lighter sparking, made her lift her head towards Hyde. Their eyes met are she leaned forward to light the end of the white stick. Even through his tinted sunglasses she could feel his fierce gaze on her, making butterflies erupt inside of her.

"You know that shit is bad for you…" Hyde started, as she would when they were younger. A smirk appeared at the strange turn of events. Jen lifted her hand to stop him, knowing where his 'lecture' was going.

"Yeah I know, but this is what a parent's divorce does to you." As she spoke, the smoke she inhaled escaped her mouth. She lifted the cigarette between her two fingers to show Hyde what she was talking about. "Why are you out here?" She nodded her head towards him as he leant on the wall adjacent to her. Lifting his foot to place it on the wall behind him, he shrugged at the question.

"Apart from being here?" Hyde responded, gesturing to the brick wall he was leaning on. Jen gave him a look at his response. He sighed, she could always see past the bullshit. "There's a disco in Kenosha tonight and they haven't shut up about it." Hyde groaned. Jen just about made out what he said, raising her eyebrow in surprise. She took a drag of her cigarette before responding to the boy.

"You're going to a disco! Can you even dance?" She asked, genuinely curious. In all the time that they had known each other, Jen couldn't recall a time where she saw Hyde dance. She had seen him bob his head, tap his foot or sway to music but that was just a natural reaction to a beat.

"I- I can dance." Hyde became defensive at the question, already having this talk with Mr Forman in the garage, the day before.

"Oh my god! You can't dance." The blonde chuckled at Hyde's discomfort. Hyde quickly finished his cigarette, throwing it to the ground and stomping it out.

"I **can **dance" Hyde defended himself. The blonde tilted he head to the side, not believing a word coming out of his mouth. To prove her wrong, he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. Jen copied Hyde's actions, dropping the finished cigarette to the floor as he walked towards her. His hand reached out for her wrist, using it to pull her flush against him. A small gasp escaped her lips at the sudden action.

He placed his left hand on the small of her back and his right took hold of hers. Jen gently laid her hand on the top of his shoulder, looking up at him trying to hide the smile that was itching to show.

Both of them felt silly as they danced by the dumpsters to no music. Hyde led her around the little nook using the hand placed in the small of her back. A small blush began to show itself on Jen's cheeks, realising that Steven Hyde had his hands on her. Jen peered up at the curly haired rebel to see a smirk dominating his face. "Are you blushing, King?" he teased the shorter girl.

"What? No, it's just the cold, Hyde." She tried to grimace at Steven to show that she wasn't blushing at him, but it just made the boy chuckle.

"Sure it is." Hyde stated once his chuckling died down. Whilst in their close proximity, he took the time to really look at her. His steely blue eyes examined hers, Hyde could see the small green flecks in her iris. Under the light layer of makeup, her small brown freckles were faint across the bridge of her nose. Jen's lips were full and plump, to the point that made them almost kissable. The blush on her cheeks deepened, feeling nervous under the intense gaze of Steven Hyde. "You're my first dance."

"I'm your first? I'm honoured." She smiled at him.

"This is nice." His words sounded sincere. The genuine tone took a hold of Jen, rarely seeing this side of Hyde.

"Yeah, it is." Jen responded breathlessly. Their gazes were locked as they moved around the small area. Totally ignoring the fact that they were having a moment by the dumpsters that Hyde's mom would occasionally smoke at. Hyde spun the blonde out of his arms, spinning her back to him slowly. He laid the back of her hand against his chest, his thumb started to unconsciously stroke the soft skin of the top of her hand. Hyde stopped moving, both of their gazes falling to their clasped hands on his chest.

The air begun to feel tense.

It was just the two of them, in silence.

Until the bell sounded, making the two teenagers jump apart.

"Uh, so … urm… See you around, King" Hyde stuttered, turning around to exit the little nook. His hand raising to scratch the back of his neck.

Blue eyes followed the fleeting figure of Steven Hyde as he hastily departed from their sweet moment.

_What the hell just happened? _Jennifer thought as she reached for another cigarette, feeling a different kind of frustration.


End file.
